Kolkata: Chaos prevailed on the streets of Kolkata as police stopped protesters marching towards the state secretariat Nabanna to protest the rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor at the city’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. Riot police used tear gas shells and water cannon to stop the protesters from marching towards the state secretariat. Some protesters pelted stones at the police.
No permission was given for the protest march and the ruling Trinamool Congress accused the government of conspiring to spread unrest by resorting to violence during the rally yesterday. Kolkata Police turned Nabanna into a fortress and deployed over 6,000 policemen to prevent the protesters from moving towards the Secretariat by any route. Drones were also used to keep an eye on the protesters. Barricades have been welded into the ground and greased to stop the protesters.
This morning, a group of protesters gathered at College Square and marched towards Nabanna. They raised slogans demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the rape and murder case. Several student organisations and civic forums joined the protest. Pictures showed protesters moving barricades that came in their way.
While the ruling Trinamool has alleged that it is a BJP-backed protest, the organisers have said that it is a march planned by student organisations. Many of the organisations involved in today’s protest are not registered organisations. Most known student organisations, including those affiliated to political parties, have distanced themselves from the protest.
This morning, Leader of Opposition in the Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said four student activists involved in planning the protest went missing after midnight.
The officer said in a post on @X.com. “The following student activists who were distributing food to volunteers who came to Howrah station suddenly disappeared after midnight: Subhojit Ghosh, Pulokesh Pandit, Gautam Senapati, Pritam Sarkar. They cannot be traced nor are they answering their phones. We suspect they may have been arrested/detained by Mamata police. If anything happens to them, Mamata police will be held accountable.”
The Bengal police responded that the students were involved in planning large-scale violence during today’s march and conspiring to commit murder and attempted murder. “They have been arrested in the interest of public safety and security, and their families have been informed,” they said. The officer then said that the families of four students have approached the Calcutta High Court.
One of the organisers, Shubhankar Haldar, said that he was once a member of the ABVP but is no longer associated with the organisation. He said that this protest is a non-political one.
Trinamool has said that this march is an attempt to spread anarchy in the name of student protest. State Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya told the media yesterday, “This is a conspiracy of BJP-ABVP to spread unrest. This is a conspiracy of firing by criminals in police uniform. There are exams tomorrow. Can students do this? They are doing vulture politics.”
Trinamool released two videos, insisting that there was a conspiracy to spread unrest. In the video, several people can be heard saying, “We want dead bodies”. Trinamool leader Jayprakash Majumdar alleged, “The BJP leadership has been told that unless an incident like Nandigram happens and dead bodies are found, there will be no wave in favor of the BJP.”